Sheena Blackhall: Makar of the North-East of Scotland

Thursday 30 April 2009

Gerard Rochford crowning Sheena Blackhall as Makar of the North-East of Scotland

Photo by Kenna Blackhall

On April 30th at Books and Beans, Sheena Blackhall was inaugurated as the North-East's
first ever Makar (Poet Laureate). Instigated by Gerard Rochford with the support
of Aberdeen writers' groups and associations, this unique ceremony kicked off Wordfringe
2009 to an audience of fifty-four who were treated to poetry, song, humour and storytelling
by Sheena, who has been publishing prolifically now for a quarter of a century and
has notched up some seventy-eight volumes and countless appearances in literary
magazines during that time. A long time for a screiver you might think — not
for Aberdeen's first Lady of the Word whose pen never runs dry — our Siller
Darlin' as we now and forever will call her.

Keith Murray, who has enjoyed a long, rich and colourful association with Sheena,
having published much of her early work, and continues to publish Sheena, among
other publishers, through his small press Malfranteaux Concepts, talked of his fond
memories of helping to establish Sheena as a writer who writes from the heart in
the Doric thus preserving our native tongue in highly original and stimulating verse
and prose. Keith also read a specially written poem in the Doric called Sheena Oor
Ain — a tribute poem which he presented to her in a special glass
frame.

The evening also heard tributes and poems from Douglas Gray, Douglas Kynoch, who
read from the bestselling book Fit Like Yer Majesty, and the usual open-mic
session, somewhat thin on the ground this evening, but featuring the ever-maturing
young poet Bryony Harrower whose work is of a very high quality for her sixteen
years — watch this space!